The Stimulation of Osteogenic Differentiation of Embryoid Bodies from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells by Akermanite Bioceramics

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have great potential as seed cells for tissue engineering applications. Previous studies have shown that iPSCs could be induced to differentiate into bone forming cells. However, in a tissue engineering approach, seeding cells in biomaterials is required, and the effect of biomaterials on cell growth and differentiation is critical for the success of the formation of engineered tissues. In this study, we investigated the effect of akermanite, a bioactive ceramic, on the osteogenic differentiation of embryoid body (EB) cells derived from human iPSCs. The results showed that, in the presence of osteogenic factors (ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, and β-glycerophosphate), ionic extracts of akermanite enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of EB cells as compared with normal osteogenic medium. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the expression of osteogenic marker genes such as osteocalcin (OCN), collagen (COL-1), RUNX2, and BMP2 are significantly increased by the stimulation of akermanite ceramic extracts at certain concentration ranges. More interesting is that the medium containing extracts of akermanite but without osteogenic factors also showed stimulatory effects on the osteogenic differentiation of EB cells as compared to normal growth medium without osteogenic factors, such as ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, and β-glycerophosphate, not at the early stage of culture, but only at the later stage of the culture period (21 days). These results suggest that akermanite as a bioactive material together with human iPSCs might be used for bone tissue engineering applications.